Integrating mechanism



6, 1943- w. G. TRUMBOWER 2,332,954

INTEGRATING HECHANISH Filed 1390. 12, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

WALTER a TRUMBOWER BY j ,ORNEY 1 w. G. TRUMBOWER INTEGRATING MECHANISM 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12, 1940 NEY Patented Oct. 26, 1943 2,332,954nv'rncaa'riivo MECHANISM Walter G. 'lrumbower, Glenside, Pa, assignor toThe Brown Instrument Company, Philadelphia, 13s., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application December 12, 194p, Serial No. 369,697

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to flow meters and more particularly tothose flow meters that are provided with a -counter which serves tototalize the flow that is measured by the meter. As is well known thedifferential pressure created by the fiow of a fluid past an orifice isproportional to the square of the flow. This being the case, anintegrating fiow,meter must be so constructed that the square root ofthe flow value must be extracted before the flow is totalized in orderto get a correct reading thereof. There are, however, other fiow meters,for example those known as the area type, in which the flow through themeter is linear. In the latter type of meter the integrator must be sodesigned that the squarero'ot of the how is not extracted.

Manufacturers of the two types of flow meters above mentioned haveheretofore either been forced to keep on hand two types of integratorsor have an integrator designed to be used with onetype of flow meter andmodified for use with the other. In the first case, there was requiredan unnecessarily'large stock, and in the second,

the modified integrator did not work as well as it might.

It is an object of my invention to provide an integrator of the typeshown in Harrison Patent 1,743,853, dated January 14, 1930, that isadapted to be used with'either type of flow meter. Broadly this may beaccomplished by properly designing a drive cam for the integrator sweeparm for each type of meter. By merely substituting one cam for the otherthe speed of the sweep arm is so controlledthat the time required for itto move from its zero-position to the position corresponding to thevalue 'of the flow may be proportional to the value of the flow orproportional to the square root of the value of the fiow. The drive camfor the sweep arm may be so designed that it can be used for other usesthan totalizing iiow so that the integrator may, if desired, be used forother purposes.

The various features of novelty which characterize my invention arepointed out with par-- ticularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention,however, its advantages and specific objects obtained with its use,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodl mentof the invention- Inthe drawings: Q

Fig. 1 is a view of a fiow meter having Mrtions broken away 'to disclosethe integrator of my invention, i

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 with the parts in a differentposition,

Fig. 3 is a view of a portion of Figure 1 on a large scale and,

Fig. 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

In the drawings a metering instrument is illustrated which isparticularly adapted to form the exhibiting portion or a flow meteringsystem such as is disclosed in said Harrison Patent No. 1,743,853. Theinstrument comprises recording and integrating sections, the mechanismof which, when the instrument is used for measuring a fluid flow, isactuated by a differential pressure device of a well known character.The recording and integrating instrument illustrated comprises anaxially movable magnetic body or core 2 which is moved by the changes ininductance of a pair of end to end coil sections 3, in which it ispositioned and which form part of an impedance bridge transmittingsystem connecting the differential pressure device and instrumentarranged and operating as disclosed 4 in said Harrison patent.

Located within the instrument casing and above a chart plate 3A is ashaft 4' upon which is of the fiow being measured.

mounted a pen arm 5. This shaft is rotated to move the pen in responseto movements of the core 2, to indicate on a chart (not shown) that ismounted in front of the chart plate the value The connection between thecore 2 and the shaft 4 consists'of a link 6 attached at one end to thecore and at its other end to a lever I pivoted at 8. A connecting piece9 is attached to the lever and is adjustably connected at one end of alink III which is connected at its other end to an arm ll attached tothe shaft 4. The lever I is provided with an adjustable counterweight I!which serves to counteract the force of the core 2 on the lever l and tobalance the latter. This lever 1 is free to move in response to changesin position of the core 2. a

With the mechanism described the variations in the rate of fluid flowmay be electro-magneticaliy transmitted to the core 2 in the inductancecoils and the movements of the core effected by such variations causecorresponding record of the time and extent of variation in rate of flowis made.-

The integrating mechanism of the instrument, to which my invention moreparticularly relates, comprises a driving shaft l5, which maywell knownto those skilled in the art and a detailed description herein isunnecessary. A driving cam I5 is attached to the shaft I5 in front of asupporting plate This cam acts on one arm of a bell crank lever l8,pivoted at IS, the

other arm of which through a link 20, causes an arm 2|, pivoted on a pin22 (Fig. 4) in plate H, to oscillate across the face of the plate. Theend of arm 2| has a substantially L-shaped latch member 23 pivotedthereon at 24.

The latch 23 is arranged to look a sweep arm 25 in fixed relation withthe oscillating arm 2| during one portion of each revolution of the camIS. The sweep arm 25 extends substantially horizontally across a portionof the plate l1 and is formed with a vertically arranged slightly offsetprojection 26 the upper end of which is pivotally mounted on the pin 22,as shown in Fig. 4. For interlocking purposes, the latch and sweep armare formed with end surfaces adapted to engage in one position of theparts. The latch has end surface 21 and 28 adapted to contact,respectively, with an end surface 29 and projection 30 of the sweep arm,as shown in Fig. 3.

A lever 3| is pivoted to the plate H at 32 ad-' jacent the driving motorI4 and as shown, is formed with its opposite end portion bent outwardlyat 3 la and rearwardly to form a projecting flange 33. The outer side ofthe flange is formed with a slot 34, in which apivot pin 35, carried bythe latch member 23, is positioned and on which the lever rests. Thepivot pins 22 and '35 are substantially coaxial, as shown in Fig. 4,

and the adjacent surfaces of the latch member 23 and sweep armprojection 30 slightly separated.

The outer end of the lever 3| is formed with a downwardly inclinedprojection 35 arranged to be engaged by the arm 2| during the relatchingmovement hereinafter described. The lever 3| is also provided with adepending tongue 31 on which a counter train driving roller 38 isrotatably mounted and arranged to be brought in frictional contact withthe periphery of a driving disc 38 once'duringeach revolution of theshaft [5, except when the shaft 4 is in its zero position, the period ofcontact with the disc depending on the angular position of a trippingblade 40.

As shown, the disc 38 has a portion of its periphery cut away so thatthe disc presents a curved surface of approximately 180. .The downwardmovement of roller 38 being limited by the slot 34, theroller and discwill be out of contact when the cut-away portion of the disc is towardthe roller.

As illustrated a tripper blade 40 is pivotably mounted at 4| in theupper part of plate IT. This blade is provided with a counterweight 42so that the tripper blade assembly is mechanically disclosed in HarrisonPatent 1,856,039, granted April 26, 1932, and serves the purpose ofpermitbalanced. The tripper blade and the recording pen are mechanicallyconnected by means of a link 43 that is attached at its upper end to anarm 44 on the shaft 4; At its lower end the link is attached to an arm45 which is connected with the tripper blade throughsuitableresilientconnection 45. This connection may be of the type ting independentmovement of the pen arm and tripper blade during times thatvthe latteris held stationary, as will be described below.

With the foregoing portions of the mechanism constructed and arranged asdescribed, the operation ofthe integrating mechanism is as follows: Atthe beginning of each operating cycle the latch member 23 is held by thesweep arm 25 in fixed relation with the oscillating arm 2| as shown inFig. 1, the arm 25'being then at the limit of its counter-clockwisemovement about its supporting pin 22. As the shaft l5 continues itsrotation, the link 28 causes the oscillating arm to begin a clockwisemovement about the pin 22. The clockwise movement of the lattercontinues without change in the position of the parts 2|, 23 and 25relative to one another until a' finger 41 on the end of the sweep armengages the upper edge of the tripper blade 40. The point in therotation.

of the disc 38 at which the finger and tripper blade contact depends onthe angular position of the shaft 4 and magnetic core 2 at that instant.This engagement prevents a further clockwise movement of the sweep armand on a continued clockwise movement of the arm 2|, the latch memberand sweep arm are relatively moved out of the interlocking position. Theunlocking action permits the lever 3| and roller 38 to drop due to theweight of the parts.

When the roller 38 drops into engagement with the curved peripheralportion of the disc 33 it continues in engagement therewith and isthereby rotated until the continued rotation of the disc carries it outof contact with the roller. The rotary movements given to the roller 38by the disc 33 are summed up by a counting train or revolution counter55 located in the lower part of the instrument framework and connectedto the roller by suitable mechanism, of which various forms aredisclosed in the above mentioned Patent No. 1,743,853. For example, thatmechanism may comprisea gear and ratchet wheel arrangement for operatinga lever connected to a link 51, the parts being held in engagement by aweight 53 mounted on the link 51, which is connected to the counter 55.The rotative movement given the roller 38 oneach engagement with thedisc 38 is proportional to the angular position of the shaft 4 at thetime when the tripper blade 43 is engaged by the sweep arm 25. While thepoint of engagement of the sweep arm 25 and blade 40 varies with theangular position of the latter, the engagement of the roller and discends at the same point in each revolution regardless of lost motion inthe tripping mechanism. As

the oscillating arm 2| starts ,its movement in the counter-clockwisedirection and approa'ches the initial position shown in Fig. l, thelatch 23 and sweep arm 25 againcome into contact, with the surface 21contacting with the end of the pro- Jection 30. At this time the surface2|A of -lever 2| engages end 35 on the lever 3| causing the latter andthe latch member 23 to rise, which a different point along the length ofthe blade. I,

In consequence of this fact it will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art that the blade edge may readily be shaped so that whateverthe position of the blade may. be the angle between the arm and bladewill be such that there is very little tendency for the two to sliprelative to each other. With the proper relative disposition of theparts as shown in the drawings the edge of the blade 40 may besubstantially a straight edge without giving rise to anyappreciableslipping between the blade and arm 25. This fact obviouslyfacilitates the manufacture and calibration of the instrument.

In the operations described, it is obvious that no matter what the shapeof the tripper blade 40 may be the movement of the sweep arm intocontact with the tripper blade tends to move the latter downwardly andthereby cause an inaccurate integrating record. Consequently there isprovided a means for holding the tripper blade fixed in position duringa predetermined portion of each revolution of the disc I9, during whichperiod the sweep arm and blade come into contact to actuate theintegrator mechanism. These provisionscomprisean arcuate extension 48extending laterally from the tripper blade adjacent its upper end and. aclamping member 49 automatically operated to hold the tripper bladesector 48 during the clockwise or downward movement of the oscillatingarm 25.

The clamping'member is pivoted on a stud 50 on the plate I! at theupperend of the member 49. That portion of the clamping member isprovided with a lateral finger the free end of which extends forwardlyover the smooth upper edge of the sector 48. The clamping member isfurther provided with a lateral projection 52 adjacent its lower end.The free end of the projection is connected to a tension spring 53secured to the plate II at a point adjacent the shaft 32. With thisarrangement of the parts the locking finger tends to be maintained incontact with the sector 4! at all times due to the action of thespring53. The lower end or the locking member has a downwardly extendingarcuate portion 54, which is arranged to be engaged by an unlocking pin55 during periodic intervals. The pin 55 is mounted on the disc 39 atthe rear side of the latter and in substantial radial alignment with thebeginning or the cut away portion oi. the disc.

During the clockwise movement of the arm 2| the sweep rm engages theblade and the inte- "Patent is:

time or travel of the arm 25 from its extreme counter-clockwise positionto the point of engagement with blade 40 be in proportion to the squareroot of the pressure diiierentiai. In such a case the speed of the arm25 must be in linear proportion to the square root of the pressurediflerentiai. If the flow is being measured by an area type meter inwhich the response is in linear proportion to the value of the fiow thespeed oi the arm 25 as it moves from its extreme counterclockwiseposition must be in linear proportion to the position of the blade 40.

The cam it which serves to drive the sweep arm 25 may be so formed thatthe speed of this arm during its clockwise movement may vary inaccordance with any desired law. Thus by properly designing the earn itthe arm 25 may move at a constant speed so that the time required tomove from its upper position to its point of engagement with blade 40wou d be in linear proportion to the flow. Inlike manner the earn it canbe designed so that the time of travel of the arm 25 is in linearproportion to the square root of the pressure diflerential. In eitherevent the upper .edge of the blade may take the same shape and would beso formed that when arm 25 engages blade 40 the angle between them willovercome any probability of slipping between the parts before the edge28 leavsthe projection 30. The cam l5 may, of course, be so shaped thatit can move the arm 25 through its path in a time proportional to anyfunction of avariable without being limited tothe two functionsdescribed herein.

While in accordance with the provisions or the statutes, I haveillustrated and described the best form of my invention now known to me,it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be madein the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spiritof my invention as set forth in the appended claims, and that in somecases oer.- tain features of my invention may sometimes be used toadvantage without a corresponding use 49 t other features.

Having now described my invention, which I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters 1. In a universal integrating mechanism, the

50 combination of an element movable through a grating mechanism isactuated. The blade lock- I being movable in accordance with the saidengages the periphery of the arcuate section 54 of the clamping member.A continuation or this ing action continues until the unlocking pin 55movement causes the clamping member to move in the counter clockwisedirection about its pivot point 50, thereby raising the finger 5| out ofcontact with the sector 48; The clamping finger remains in the raisedposition as long as the pin 55 acts on the arcuate section 54. When thepin passes out of contact-with the end or the clamping member, theclamping member is remay have some definite relation with the volume oiflow being measured it is necessary that the 75 position dependentuponthe value of a condipath to a position depending upon the value of acondition a measurable characteristic of which varies in accordance witha predetermined law as the condition varies lineraly, said element tionin.engagement with element, said latter position depending upon thevalue of said con- 65, between said follower [and said sweep arm storedto its locking position under the action of operate said counter fromsaid driving member, said last means being controlled by engagementdition, a constantly rotating shaft,- a cam shaped in accordance withsaid law mounted on said shaft to be rotated thereby, a followerengaging said cam, constant speed ratio drive mechanism ,whereby thesweep arm'and cam follower will be driven at a speed corresponding tothe shape oi the cam, a drive member also mounted on said shaft, anintegrating counter, and means to between said sweep arm ,and element.

2. A universal integrating mechanism including an element movablethrough a path to a tion to said second position in a time intervalproportional to the law of said measurable characteristic comprising aconstantly rotatable shaft, a cam shaped in accordance with said lawmounted on said shaft, a cam follower, a drive linkage between saidfollower and said sweep arm, a counter, a drive means operated by saidshaft for, said counter, a catch mechanism to control the application ofsaid drive to said counter. and means to operate said catch uponengagement of said sweep arm with sai element.

WALTER G. TRULIBOWER.

